A lot of Windows 10 users these days are looking for their options in free editing software considering Microsoft has already stopped support for Movie Maker. And with the bulk of our activities focused online, the pressure to produce perfect videos can be felt by everyone, whether a noob in this scene or a veteran.
So today, we’re going to discuss seven amazing free editing software for Windows 10. Yes, they’re all free, so look into which one suits you best already!
1. Openshot
The Openshot interface looks minimalist, as does the collection of tools. This software, though, gets the job done fairly easily and most of the actions are done by drag-and-drop mouse gestures. If you were a fan of this feature in Movie Maker, you’d probably be pleased to see the resemblance. Unlike Movie Maker, however, OpenShot is a non-linear video editor that instantly renders it twice as effective.
First-time users might also be happily pleased by the pop-up of tutorial windows that guide you through the key steps and help you get acquainted with the interface.
Openshot has an amazing collection of more than 300 transitions. Each may also be added to the appropriate component or the intersection of two media files by drag-and-drop motion. You can also play with certain essential effects, such as blurring, brightness, and contrast, Chroma Key, deinterlacing, wiping transformations, negative, and color saturation. The picture-in-picture effect is a little indirect, but there is a way to do it by right-clicking on the file and selecting a 1/4 scale layout. Right-click will also open the Time-Related Effects menu: freezing, fast-forwarding, slow motion, etc.
2. VSDC
If you’re looking for a multifunctional solution including a video editor, a slideshow maker, and a screen recorder, look no further. VSDC’s got it all. Named among the best free PC video editing tools by the GoPro Technical Support Team, TechRadar, and various Youtubers, VSDC deserves to be at the top of this list.
VSDC provides a broad variety of resources for various uses. It’s going to be handy if you’re just planning to give your video a quick touch up, maybe cut it, add a soundtrack, fix the angle, change the light and color balance, you name it! But it will also deal with a serious project requiring more advanced features.
Also on machines with minimal resources, VSDC performs remarkably well. In other words, you’ll be able to use VSDC even though your PC has as little memory as 2Gb left. This feature makes it a decent option for Windows 10 video editors, including for low-end system users.
There are over 30 color filters available, including Instagram-style presets. You can crop the original picture borders or zoom the appropriate portion slowly.
VSDC can open every file, no matter which device has been used to capture the video. It also operates for 4K resolution. At the export stage, you can select pre-configured profiles for further upload to social networks (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) or manually set the format, resolution, and quality, including HD.
3. Videopad
Videopad is another multifunctional piece of video editing, screen recording, voice, and video recording software. Its free version is called a demo and is limited to personal use only. The interface would definitely remind you of the Movie Maker-especially the File Library and the top menu where video effects and transitions can be seen.
Multiple video and audio tracks are available, so you can work with a non-linear sequence. If you are dealing with text objects, this editor can generate a good range of results. First, there’s a way to inject subtitles in real-time. In other words, the text subtitles can be entered manually with the accuracy of a second, so that they can be previewed automatically and corrected if necessary. Second, there are over a dozen text effects and animations to select from.
However, masking is the most popular advanced feature available in the Videopad. Right-click the selected video fragment and continue to Effects. A new window would open, where the masking parameters can be set.
4. Davinci Resolve
Many professional video editors tend to be expensive for an average user who can only use them a few times a year. However, if you think of sophisticated color correction software when you say “professional” Resolve is a stunning video editor available for your Windows 10 PC at zero cost.
You may want to search online Davinci Resolve courses available on Lynda or Udemy, since mastering this beast can take a bit of a steep learning curve if you haven’t dealt with something like this before. However, Hollywood’s color grading capability should be worth it. On top of that, of course, you get to perform basic operations, such as cutting, splitting, and sound editing.
There are only two downsides worth considering and taking into account. First, Davinci Resolve can use your PC GPU to the fullest, so make sure you have a decent graphics card and a reasonable amount of memory available. Second, there are some problems with the recognition of some video and audio formats. The officially recommended format to deal with is ProRes, but it also appears to work smoothly with most H.264 codec files.
5. Avidemux
There appears to be no artistic factor associated with Avidemux. You’re not going to find several video tracks or a file library. Simply put, you can only cut, copy, paste and encode. But this should not turn you away from Avidemux.
If you have little or no experience in all those post-production bells and whistles, and you just need to cut a piece of footage fast, go for it. Not only does it take less than 3 seconds to install this program, but it also offers the easiest and most likely the clearest way to split a video file into fragments. If you have set the markers for the appropriate time frame, simply go to the “Edit” tab in the top menu and select what you want to do, whether you want to cut, copy, or delete the part.
When you’re done, you can go ahead and select the video and audio output parameters. Avidemux has a remarkable collection of codecs to choose from for such a basic and free platform. That’s why calling it not only a video editor but also an encoder is more right. It supports the most common formats, including MP4, MPG, WMV, AVI, DVD, and MOV-as well as H.265/HEVC codec for high-quality files.
6. Shotcut
Shotcut is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux users. With its minimalist interface, Shotcut is capable of conducting all necessary video editing operations, including such demanding ones as film restoration, film stabilization, and white balancing.
Applying effects is much more simply because of the real-time preview you get from the left-hand filter menu. Simply pick the filters that you want to try on the footage and go through the checkboxes to see if they appear on the image in the right-hand preview window.
What makes Shotcut stand out as a Windows 10 video editor, however, is the Chroma Keying feature. Movie Maker didn’t have this feature to eliminate a green backdrop from videos and images, but only a 3rd-party plugin could be used to execute the task. Shotcut in turn allows this advanced effect to be implemented rapidly and effectively. Maybe that’s why TechRadar called it one of the apps to replace the Windows Essentials suite products.
7. Hitfilm Express
Hitfilm Express is a cross-platform program that runs for both Windows and Mac systems. However, its distinctive feature set is well concealed behind an unorthodox interface. At the basic level, you can cut and split media files, add text, and work with audio.
If you get a sense of how the editing process is structured in Hitfilm Express, you’ll be able to play with the effects. From chroma keying to 3D compositing and even other special effects you’ve definitely seen on TV. When done, video tasks can only be exported in 1080p resolution, although there are also pre-configured output profiles for further upload to social media.